December, 2003 Edition           

Chapter # 407                                                www.eaa407.org

                        South East Idaho

 

Officers and Contacts:

          Hal Johansen, President                            522-7297              haledie@ida.net

        John Bakken, Vice President                    238-0754              bakkjohn@isu.edu

          Harold Turvey, Secretary/Treasurer        785-2552              happyharold@cableone.net

          Austin Moses, Newsletter                          684-3922              mosescpa@srv.net

 

NEXT MEETING:       Our Traditional Chapter 407 Christmas Party will be held at AeroMark in IDA at 6:00 P.M. on Saturday December 6^th : This is a potluck dinner affair so bring your favorite dish to share - or your mothers or grandmothers !!.  Jerry Phillips, special activities coordinator and vice president elect advises that dishes covering the food spectrum from hors d’oeuvres through desserts are welcome.   Chapter 407 will furnish the turkey and ham.  Bring your own tableware.  There will be a White Elephant* Gift exchange with the rule that “you brings one , you gets one”.   This is always fun and surely will be humorous with Nolan Getsinger, and  his inimitable style, having agreed to be “Pseudo Santa”.

 

* White Elephant. 1, An albino elephant 2, Any object no longer desired by it’s owner, but of possible value to others, per Webster.  I suggest 2.

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From the Prez: 

 

END OF THE YEAR AND START OF THE NEXT:

      You are reminded that Chapter 407 membership dues in the amount of  $24.00 for calendar year 2004 are due (dues are due).  You are further reminded that as stated in the by laws, an EAA International requirement,  you must be a member of EAA International to be a member of Chapter 407.

          Due (another due) to extraordinary member involvement  and participation, the successes of 2003 will be a “hard act to follow”.  Your new, carry over and ex-officio officers  will be meeting on December 2 to plan the chapter activities for next year.  If any member has/ suggestions or would like to attend this meeting call Hal @ 522-7297.

          Mark your calendar for January 17, which is planned to be the kickoff meeting for 2004.  It will include presentation of Chapter Service Awards and plans for the new year, etc.  More Later.

          Thanks to everyone  for your dedication and support in 2003 and a Merry Christmas TO ALL.  See you at 6 p.m. on the Dec. 6^th

                                                                             Hal

         

 

From the Editor:

 

From time to time I like to surf the web for new stuff from aircraft kit manufacturers, in part dreaming and in part planning for that perfect project.  One of my favorite sites is Vans RV, which has been dominated over the last couple years by news of the four seat RV10 prototype and kits now being delivered.  Van has apparently succeeded in keeping the RV feel while increasing the seating capacity by two and the horsepower range up to 260.  One of my favorite production airplanes is the Piper Archer and the new RV10 seems to be very comparable except for the horsepower and speed increase.  It appears that for the same price as a used Archer, one can now fly a new updated version by putting in his labor.  This is another sign that experimental aircraft are gaining in maturity and popularity.

 

When I checked the site recently, I was surprised to find a new name on the horizon; that of the RV11.  The new RV11 will apparently be a motor glider of reasonable cost and performance, possibly using the Jabiru 2200 80 hp engine with full feathering propeller.  Although the RV11 is  only in the “proof of concept” stage at this time and not on the front burner of the R & D Department, much of the construction work has been done on a prototype.

 

As I thought of the possible draw of a motor glider, I remembered back a few of years ago when Harold Turvey and I flew out to the Arlington show and visited the Europa tent.  The presenter mentioned that long wings were available for the Europa making it a motor glider of reasonable glide performance.  As a side benefit, he announced, registering it as a motor glider meant you didn’t need a third class medical.  That was before the new sport pilot license was in the channels and I could see the light bulbs going on in potential customer’s eyes; all the benefits of motorized flight without the hassle of a medical.  Now with the Sport Pilot option, I suppose that wouldn’t be a valid reason, but increasing efficiency on lower power may be one of the reasons to look this direction. 

 

Every once in a while, when I am alone in the Pulsar XP with little additional weight, I will get sucked up in a moderate updraft under a cloud layer.  I suppose that is similar to soaring on a smaller scale.  I remember once, coming back from Salmon, I fought headwinds climbing up the Lemhi Valley.  Ground speed was down in the 70-80 mph range and climb rate was barely 500-600 fpm.  When I reached about the 8500’ foot level however, the GPS showed speed increasing to about 160 mph, the engine red-lined and climb increased to over 1000 fpm.  I had hit some kind of mountain wave under the overcast layer and it was really giving me a boost.  I throttled back, pushed the nose down and enjoyed the ride until I got out of the mountains and met with the head wind again over the INEEL.  If that’s what soaring is like, I’ll take it.

 

Any input from this group on the subject would be welcomed.

 

Austin Moses

 

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E. A. A. Chapter 407

Minutes of November 15, 2003

Aero Mark building, Idaho Falls, ID

 

The meeting was called to order at 10:06 a.m. by President Hal Johansen, with 38 souls attending. Visitors were welcomed, which included a student from I. S. U., students from B. Y. U.-Idaho, and leaders of the local section of the American Welding Society, led by Section Chair Dennis Clark. This group includes members from Missoula, MT, to Utah, with over 50,000 members nationally.

 

The minutes of the October 18, 2003, meeting were read and approved.  A treasurer’s report was given, which included $3,975.25 in the checking account, and a CD with over $1,200.00 value. The CD will expire on November 24^th, at which time it will be cashed in. A motion was made with a second to put $4,000.00 in a CD with the best rate, which currently is 1.5% for 9 months, at Idaho Central Credit Union.

Elections were held for the positions of Vice-President and Treasurer, which will be for a 2 year period to begin January 1, 2004.  Jerry Phillips was voted in as Vice-President, and Harold Mothersill was voted in as Treasurer, with 20 votes in favor for each, and 1 abstention.

Don Knauts gave a report on the purchase of magazine covers, and extra copies of Sport Aviation are available on a first come first served basis.  Jerry Phillips reported on the fly-in at Dell, MT, and reported the Christmas dinner will be at 6 p.m. at the Aero Mark building on December 6, 2003. Gary Shipley reported that 282 Young Eagles have been flown by our chapter thus far this year, and it was decided to have the Pocatello Young Eagles program on December 6, 2003. Gary also reported progress on the tool program, with the web site soon to be updated with the proper information.

Hal reported the need for a Designated Airworthiness Representative for this area. Details can be received from Hal.

Paul Tremblay was introduced as the featured speaker, on Non-Destructive Examination of Weldments. There are 7 methods of testing: VT (visual), RT (radiation), UT (ultrasonic), MT (magnetic particle), PT (penetrant), ET (electro-magnetic), and AET (esoteric). Paul discussed MT and PT in depth.

MT      A.        Commonly used on ferrous materials